Bipartisan Coalition of 39 Attorneys General Calls on Congress to Combat Illicit Xylazine

The U.S. Capitol in Washington on March 23, 2023. (Richard Moore/The Epoch Times)

A bipartisan coalition of 39 attorneys general has called on Congress to approve legislation to combat the abuse of xylazine, a potent veterinary tranquilizer that’s increasingly infiltrating illicit drugs and is easily obtainable online.

The attorneys general (AG) reached out in a May 18 letter to congressional leadership and the chairmen and ranking members of some House and Senate committees to encourage lawmakers to approve the Combating Illicit Xylazine Act, introduced in March by Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.). The measure has 31 Democrat and 29 Republican co-sponsors.

The legislation would “prohibit certain uses of xylazine, and for other purposes.”

Xylazine is “a non-opioid veterinary tranquilizer not approved for human use [that] has been linked to an increasing number of overdose deaths nationwide in the evolving drug addiction and overdose crisis.” according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. There have been instances of xylazine mixed with other deadly drugs, including fentanyl.

“Xylazine is making the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, fentanyl, even deadlier,” Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Anne Milgram stated in a March alert.

“DEA has seized xylazine and fentanyl mixtures in 48 of 50 states,“ she continued. ”The DEA Laboratory System is reporting that in 2022, approximately 23 percent of fentanyl powder and 7 percent of fentanyl pills seized by the DEA contained xylazine.”

In their letter, the AGs wrote that “xylazine is a growing danger to communities across our nation. With a record number of overdose deaths, we must confront this new threat.”

Xylazine is also known as “tranq” or “Philly dope,” as it’s a tranquilizer and, per the latter nickname, is popular in Philadelphia. However, unlike fentanyl, it isn’t an opioid, so the overdose antidote naloxone, also known as Narcan, doesn’t reverse its effects although the DEA suggests administering Narcan if someone might be suffering a drug poisoning.

Xylazine has been spotted in 48 out of 50 states, according to the DEA. There was a 117 percent increase in xylazine-related deaths in 2021 compared to the previous year.

“Many of our States have scheduled xylazine, though some minor disagreement exists over which Schedule to place xylazine. Nevertheless, we agree that Congress must act quickly to classify the illicit use of xylazine under Schedule III of the CSA,” the AGs wrote. “The Combating Illicit Xylazine Act provides critical tools that will enable the DEA to track its manufacturing, prevent diversion, and mandate analysis and reporting on the illicit use of xylazine.”

The AGs who signed the letter include New York’s Letitia James, Florida’s Ashley Moody, Tennessee’s Jonathan Skrmetti, Arizona’s Kris Mayes, California’s Rob Bonta, Texas’s Ken Paxton, Virginia’s Jason Miyares, Connecticut’s William Tong, and South Carolina’s Alan Wilson.